Walking in Good Works

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Scripture

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
(Ephesians 2:8 NASB)
not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
(Ephesians 2:9 NASB)
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
(Ephesians 2:10 NASB)

 

Observation

We are constantly reminded that we are saved by faith and not by works. Verses eight and nine were to be memorized as a part of "Evangelism Explosion" years ago and were a part of the gospel presentation. The emphasis certainly is on the work of Christ in our salvation. We are not saved by our own works, but only by the grace of God because of the work of Christ. It is by this grace that we are saved if, in faith, we are willing to receive this gift from God. But right on the heels of this comes verse ten which then says that once we have received this gift from God we are revealed as God's workmanship. We are once again God's beautiful creation, restored to the image and intent which God had for humanity. What happens when we are restored and we reflect the original image? We are restored for good works so that we can walk in them.

 

Application


The new life in Christ which we receive by faith is a transformational life. We are to stop sinning! Why is that? Because when we are in Christ, we are restored to the creatures that God originally intended us to be. To be fully human means that we fully reflect the image of Christ, and Christ did not sin. Often we use the argument "I'm only human" as an excuse for behavior. Sadly, that should be "I'm only a fallen human" because to truly be human would not be an excuse. The life of the transformed Christian is one in which we do good works, not because we want to be saved, but because we ARE saved. Our lives after coming to Christ should be ones in which we no longer do the things which we did in the past. God said we were to walk in good works. Now that is certainly a challenge, to ask God to keep us in such a close relationship with him on a daily basis that we are able to walk in HIS good works! This is not about human effort, but about a God - human relationship in which we remain in such close contact with him that we walk the journey of life which he has laid out for us that only leads us into a path of good works.

 

Prayer


Lord, please help me to keep on the path with you today. Amen.

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